"Twin Sons Of A Different Mother/Phoenix" by DAN FOGELBERG [and TIM WEISBERG] (2011 Beat Goes On 2CD Remasters of Albums From 1978 and 1979) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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1960s and 1970s MUSIC ON CD - Volume 2 of 3 - Exceptional CD Remasters

As well as 1960s and 1970s Rock and Pop - It Also Focuses On

Folk, Folk Rock, Country Rock, Reggae, Punk and New Wave

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"...Once I Was A Man Alone...Time To Carry On…"

I purchased these superb sounding Dan Fogelberg 2CD reissues by Beat Goes On Records of England way back and have been meaning to review them ever since. I’ve covered Volume 1 “Home Free” (1972) / “Souvenirs” (1974) and Volume 2 “Captured Angel” (1975) / ”Nether Lands” (1977) in separate reviews.

UK released 12 December 2011 - "Twin Sons Of Different Mothers/Phoenix" by DAN FOGELBERG on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1021 (Barcode 5017261210210) is Volume 3 in this series of Beat Goes On 2CD Remasters and Reissues. 

While "Phoenix" is a DAN FOGELBERG solo LP - the "Twin Sons" set is credited to DAN FOGELBERG and TIM WEISBERG. This British 2CD Reissue plays out as follows...

Disc 1 (34:44 minutes):

1. Twins Theme [Side 1]

2. Intimidation

3. Lazy Susan

4. Guitar Etude No. 3

5. Tell Me To My Face

6. Hurtwood Alley [Side 2]

7. Lahaina Luna

8. Paris Nocturne

9. Since You’ve Asked

10. The Power Of Gold

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 5th album “Twin Sons Of Different Mothers” [credited with Jazz Flautist TIM WEISBERG] first issued September 1978 in the USA on Full Moon JE 35339 and in the UK on Epic EPC 82774.

Disc 2 (42:52 minutes):

1. Tullamore Dew [Side 1]

2. Phoenix

3. Gypsy Wind

4. The Last To Know

5. Face The Fire

6. Wishing On The Moon [Side 2]

7. Heart Hotels

8. Longer

9. Beggar’s Game

10. Along The Road

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 6th LP first issued December 1979 in the USA on Full Moon Records PE 35634 and in the UK on Epic EPC 83317.

Like the other reissues in this superb series - the 16-page booklet is excellent – all artwork reproduced, the lyrics to both albums, full credits - and comes complete with new liner notes in this case by noted writer JOHN O’REGAN. With the outer card wrap – it’s a classy presentation. But the big news for fans is the fabulous remasters. ANDREW THOMPSON at Sound Mastering in London has done the deed (he’s handled large numbers of BGO’s reissues) and his transfers on this 2CD set are beautifully handled. On to the music…

I can still recall the shock of “Twin Sons…” Having done 4 albums of Eagles-type singer-songwriter fare – Fogelberg went Instrumental and probably scared the crap out of his loyal fans. Excluding an acoustic/string ditty here and there – most of the 7 instrumentals on the 10-track LP are Flute Driven Jazz Fusion of sorts – a little like Jeff Beck’s “Blow By Blow” or “Wired” but without the lead guitars. One of the three vocal performances “The Power Of Gold” even became a minor US 7” single hit (features Don Henley on barely perceptible backing vocals). Beautifully produced - it was given a Half Speed Mastered Vinyl LP reissue in the Eighties. So it’s not surprising that the CD remaster here is breathtaking. I only wish I could say that the album warrants it because for me “Twin Sons…” has always been a failed curio. Some of the tracks are interesting for sure (like “Intimidation”) - but there are no real songs on here. But if "Twin Sons" is three stars then Fogelberg more than made up for it when he returned in 1979 with what is easily his most accomplished all-rounder album - the five-star “Phoenix”…

Opening with a fantastic double-whammy of the pretty acoustic instrumental “Tullamore Dew” – it launches into the long rocking “Phoenix (lyrics above). The trio of gorgeous soft ballads “Gypsy Wind”, “Heart Hotel” and especially “Longer” were tailor-made for Radio and not surprisingly “Longer” became a hit single for him in January 1980 (reached Number 2 on the Pop charts). But I’ve always felt that the album finisher “Along The Road” is a true Dan Fogelberg masterpiece – haunting to this day. And having lived with the crappy Eighties American CD all these years – I can’t stress enough how good this 2011 remaster has made the album sound. Wonderful…

He would really open out with “The Innocent Age” double in 1981 (featuring a rare duet vocal appearance by Joni Mitchell on the track "Nexus"). In the meantime - this beautiful-sounding 2CD reissue (along with the others) does his musical legacy proud...

"Ooh La La: An Island Harvest" by RONNIE LANE and SLIM CHANCE. A Review Of The March 2014 2CD Reissue And Remaster From Universal.

This review is part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

                       http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00LQKMC6I

"…I'm Gonna Miss You…"

As every Small Faces and Faces fan knows – Ronnie Lane’s primo and sought-after solo career on GM and Island Records in the mid to late Seventies has had a ludicrously convoluted history on CD. It’s involved obscure re-issue labels, followed by quick deletion and extortion setting in on the price front almost immediately. And most of these discs have had OK to occasionally better sound quality. Well – at last – all of that ends with Universal’s big label 2CD reissue "Ooh La La: An Island Harvest". It's not perfect for sure – but damn close. Here are the tins and tambourines…

UK released Monday 10 March 2014 (25 March 2014 in the USA) on Universal-Island 5345422 (Barcode 600753454220) – "Ooh La La: An Island Harvest" breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (74:41 minutes):

Tracks 1, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 15 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - "Ooh La La (Alternate Studio Take – Take 4)", "Buddy Can Spare A Dime (Alternate Studio Take – Take 5)", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter) (Alternate Studio Take)", "You Never Can Tell (Take 1)",  "Back Street Boy (Jam Session)", "Country Boy (Alternate Take)"

Tracks 8, 14, 17 and 18 are from the 1975 UK album "Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" (see sequence below)

Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12 and 13 are from the 1976 UK album "One For The Road" LP (see sequence below)

Track 16 is "What Went Down (That Night With You)" – the A-side of a non-album UK 7” single issued February 1975 on Island WIP 6216

Disc 2 (75:26 minutes):

Tracks 1 and 14 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - "The Poacher (Take 2)" and "Anniversary (Alternate Mix)"

Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 are from the 1975 UK album "Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" (see sequence below)

Tracks 3 and 5 are from the 1976 UK album "One For The Road" LP (see sequence below)

Track 8 is "Lovely (Single Version)" – the Non-Album B-side of Track 16 on Disc 1

Tracks 12 to 19 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE tracks from a BBC Concert 23 April 1974 - "Last Orders Please", "Done This One Before", "Flags And Banners", "Tell Everyone", "How Come", "I Believe In You", "Debris" and "Ooh La La".

You can sequence 'most' of both Island LPs as follows (1/18) = Disc 1, Track 18 etc.:

Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance  (July 1975 2nd UK LP on Island ILPS 9321)

Side 1:

1.    Little Piece Of Nothing (1/18)

2.    Stone (2/4)

3.    A Bottle Of Brandy (2/6)

4.    Street Gang (2/2)

5.    Anniversary (1/14)

6.    I’m Gonna Sit Down And Write Myself A Letter

7.    I’m A Country Boy

Side 2:

1.    Ain’t No Lady (2/9)

2.    Blue Monday (2/10)

3.    Give Me A Penny (1/8)

4.    You Never Can Tell

5.    Tin And Tambourine (1/17)

6.    Single Saddle (2/7)

One For The Road (July 1976 3rd UK LP on Island ILPS 9366)

Side 1:

1.    Don’t Try 'N' Change My Mind (1/2)

2.    32nd Street (1/7)

3.    Snake (1/12)

4.    Burnin' Summer (1/13)

5.    One For The Road (1/3)

Side 2:

1.    Steppin' An' Reelin' (The Wedding) 1/5)

2.    Harvest Home (1/6)

3.    Nobody's Listening (2/3)

4.    G’morning (2/5)

The 2CDs are housed in a three-way foldout card sleeve that’s admittedly flimsy with CD1 on the left, CD2 on the right and the 16-page booklet in the centre (and again no inner bags for protection – be careful extracting the discs). A nice touch however is that CD1 repros the Pink-Rim Island Label - while CD2 repros the one after it – the Blue and Orange mid to late Seventies label. There are hugely affectionate liner notes by renowned music writer PAOLO HEWITT who also compiled the set with JOHNNY CHANDLER. We get mini photos of the two album sleeves and UK Island singles, master tape boxes, concert tickets, gig posters and reissue credits. But of course the big news is the sound – remastered from original tapes by ALEX WHARTON at Abbey Road Studios – we finally get to hear these tracks breath and sound wonderful.

The sonic wallop is immediate when you get to Track 2 – a rare UK 7" single "Don't Try To Change My Mind". Last I heard it was on a Neon CD from 2000 (see review) and its sound quality was good rather than great. Now it’s a revelation. The accordion and mandolins are so clear – lovely tune. And it seems like I’ve waited 40 years to hear "Tin And Tambourine" sound this good – what a blast. And when the band goes into that harmonica jaunt half way through – I’m bawling like a sappy fool. God I miss this guy…

As fans will have noticed from the LP lists above there’s bad news and niggles – three tracks from "Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" are AWOL - replaced with Alternates. However in the case of "Country Boy" – the Alternate Mix is shockingly good – as pretty as Lane could be – it’s going to be an absolute highlight for many. Another downer is serious distortion and crackle on "Burnin' Summer" - unbelievably bad (corrupted tape?).

But in compensation the BBC In Concert stuff on Disc 2 comes over as a FACES gig done live-in-the-studio in a ramshackle Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance style (and don’t get me started on the gorgeous “Debris” – we’ll be here for years). The finisher "Ooh La La"is joyous stuff. There are one or two of the Takes with small amounts of studio banter (the Chuck Berry cover "You Never Can Tell") and Plonk’s infectious laugh that will put a smile on many a weary kisser. Fans of "The Poacher" will also flip for the "Two, Three, Four…" count in on Take 2 where I swear he’s changed the words but all the magical ingredients are there – just slightly different. Another gem for many will be the sonic upgrade on the lovely "Anniversary" (lyrics above) – it’s featured in both album and alternate form.

As a long time Amazon Reviewer (over 1000 posts) – I regularly heap praise on UK independent labels that keep the flame alive for so many of us (especially on CD). But in 2014 someone somewhere seems to have lit a large torch under the stodgy bottom of Universal – because like the brilliant Eric Clapton 2CD set “Give Me Strength” – for me this is yet another 2014 Reissue of the Year  from a major record company. What is going on!?

Paolo Hewitt writes of Ronnie Lane, "He had stars in his eyes and he had love in his smile…"

Well after a mere four even five decades after the event and his sad passing – fans of Ronnie 'Plonk' Lane finally have something worth getting weepy about. I raise a Pint of Guinness to him and to all involved in this superb reissue.

Cheers to you all...

“A Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years 1973 - 1976” by ROBIN TROWER [feat James Dewar of Stone The Crows] (July 2010 EMI 3CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...We Were Spellbound..."

Procol Harum’s ace axeman ROBIN TROWER has been thrilling my turntables and CD players for decades now - and this fabulous 3-disc nugget from those old muckers at EMI only hammers home why. You get album after album of Hard Rock, Blues, Boogie and yes - funky as fuck quality. Here are the Fender Bender details...

UK released 26 July 2010 - "A Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years 1973-1976" by ROBIN TROWER on EMI/Chrysalis 642 1542 (Barcode 50999652154226) is the mega label's first anthology for the guitar virtuoso (3CDs) and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (63:06 minutes):

1. I Can’t Wait Much Longer

2. Daydream

3. Hannah

4. Man Of The World

5. I Can’t Stand It

6. Rock Me Baby

7. Twice Removed From Yesterday

8. Sinner’s Song

9. Ballerina

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut solo album "Twice Removed From Yesterday" released March 1973 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1039.

Track 10 is “Take A First Train” – the non-album B-side to "Man Of The World" issued March 1973 as his Debut Solo 7" single in the UK on Chrysalis CHS 2009.

11. Day Of The Eagle

12. Bridge Of Sighs

13. In This Place

14. The Fool And Me

Tracks 11 to 14 are Side 1 of the album "Bridge Of Sighs" released April 1974 on Chrysalis CHR 1057.

Disc 2 (78:39 minutes):

1. Too Rolling Stoned

2. About To Begin

3. Lady Love

4. Little Bit Of Sympathy

Tracks 1 to 4 are Side 2 of the LP "Bridge Of Sighs".

Track 5 is "Day Of The Eagle (7” Single Edit)"

6. Shame The Devil

7. It’s Only Money

8. Confessin’ Midnight

9. Fine Day

10. Alethea

11. A Tale Untold

12. Gonna Be More Suspicious

13. For Earth Below

Tracks 6 to 13 are the album "For Earth Below" released February 1975 on Chrysalis CHR 1057.

14. Too Rolling Stoned

15. Daydream

16. Rock Me Baby

Tracks 14 to 16 are Side 1 of the LP "Robin Trower Live!" – released March 1976 on Chrysalis CHR 1089.

Disc 3 (64:51 minutes):

1. Lady Love

2. I Can’t Wait Much Longer

3. Alethea

4. Little Bit Of Sympathy

Tracks 1 to 4 are Side 2 of the album "Robin Trower Live!"

5. Same Rain falls

6. Long Misty Days

7. Hole Me

8. Caledonia

9. Pride

10. Sailing

11. S.M.O.

12. I Can’t Live Without You

13. Messin The Blues

Tracks 5 to 13 are the album "Long Misty Days" – released October 1976 on Chrysalis CHR 1107.

Track 14 is "Long Misty Days (Single Edit)" (1976 German 7" on Chrysalis 6155 073 - B-side of "Caledonia")

Track 15 is "Let Me Be The One" – Previously Unreleased.

To get 5 albums of primo Seventies guitar Rock, three rare 7" single edits and 1 genuinely excellent previously unreleased track for just over twelve quid is pretty amazing value for money (including a free MP3 rip to your PC or Mac).

The 8-page booklet pictures the albums and has a center two-page spread of live photos – but little else. It’s miniscule and really disappointing. At least with 2012’’s second Chrysalis Anthology “Farther On Up The Road” (1977 to 1983) – the booklet increased to 12-pages. But packaging niggles aside - the great remasters and the sheer value-for-money on offer here more than make up for it. In fact this entire EMI series (I've reviewed the Barclay James Harvest, Frankie Miller and Ten Years After 3CD sets) is exemplary.

But the big deal here is the 2010 PETER MEW REMASTER (done at Abbey Road). I've raved about this guy's touch at the tape before - even set a tag of his remastered issues for those interested in quality sound (there's hundreds) - and this double jewel-case set is no different. The sound is truly fantastic - full and clear without being over-hyped or amped up for the sake of it. Each is a new remaster excepting “Bridge Of Sighs” which Mew had already revisited in 2007.

First port of call for fans is the amazing previously unreleased song “Let Me Be The One” (a “Long Misty Days” outtake). It’s a properly brill slowy that reeks of Thin Lizzy mid Seventies bars and drowning your sorrows in whiskey. I’m genuinely shocked at how good it is – with James Dewar’s soulful vocals added real pain and pathos to the lovely guitar melody.

Then of course there’s the jewel in the LP crown – the entire “Bridge Of Sighs” album that is a vast improvement over the good rather than great debut “Twice Removed From Yesterday”. Speaking of soulful (and even Lizzy) – the beautiful “Daydream” from 1973 sounds glorious (lyrics above). But in truth there are so many goodies on here – and not all of it is straight-up rocking. I love it when the band move out of the guitar pyrotechnics and get funky – the opening track “Shame The Devil” from “For Earth Below” or the Side 2 ender “Messin’ The Blues” from “Long Misty Days” are good examples.

On the rocking and funky "Lady Love" (from “Bridge Of Sighs”) James Dewar sings, "…A simple truth…and it moves me…"

Indeed it does. A 5-star winner if ever there was one.

PS: see also my review for Volume 2 "Farther On Up The Road..."

“The Maltese Falcon” on BLU RAY. A Review Of The 2013 Reissue – Part of Warner Brothers BLU RAY STEELBOOK SERIES.

Here is a link to Amazon UK where this BLU RAY is available at the best price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A6UH82M

“…The Cheaper The Crook…The Gaudier The Patter…” - The Maltese Falcon on BLU RAY.

If I'm truthful - I've always admired John Huston's "The Maltese Falcon" more than I actually like it – and have owned the Warners Brothers/Turner Classics DVD of the 1941 Black and White classic for years now ("The Big Sleep" is so much better).

This January 2013 Warner Brothers BLU RAY reissue in a 'Steelbook' (Barcode 5000152858) uses the same restored film elements the Turner Classics DVD did and carries the same crazy extras (see below). It’s quite rightly defaulted to its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio which makes it look like a box in the centre of the screen with black bars to the left and right. No amount of screen changing with your remote will change this.

The 'Steelbook' cleverly uses the "A Story As Explosive As His Blazing Guns" artwork of the original poster on the front with a page of info loosely glued to the rear (I’d suggest putting it in a 7" single plastic to protect the whole easily damageable lot). This reissue also includes a code page inside for a downloadable Ultraviolet Copy to mobile devices (redemption deadline 27/01/2015 – exclusions for the UV code are iTunes, Ireland, The Channel Islands and The Isle of Man). There’s no booklet - nor art card (mores the pity) and you’d have to say that the period look is very evocative. But it’s nice rather than great – when with a bit of effort – it could have been very special indeed.  (As of March 2014 it's reduced in price to eight quid).

The print is very clean throughout with only small amounts of grain and blocking showing.  At times it looks ‘noir’ and quite beautiful in a way that only black and white can. There’s a scene where Bogart as gumshoe Sam Spade answers the phone in his San Francisco apartment at one am – a voce tells him that his partner Miles Archer has been shot. The camera doesn’t show Bogey’s face – it just stays on the phone as he talks  - the curtain blowing in the window in the background. It’s expertly framed and is a clever way of filling a potentially dead scene with intrigue and menace.

This is a world where women are 'dames' and 'broads', where men wear a tilted Trilby as they stand in doorways carrying something in their long coat pockets that isn’t a ‘Have A Nice Day’ bumper sticker. Bullets are 'slugs', two-faced squelchers 'squawk' – and when our Sam smacks some schmuck in the kisser he says - "When you’re slapped, you’ll take it and like it…" In fact the pump-action dialogue and convoluted plot line with everyone double-crossing everyone else is part of the fun. There’s the pleading ladies (Mary Astor and Gladys George) who may not be so Mom’s Apple Pie, the 'square' assistant with a heart of gold who believes in her boss (Lee Patrick) and the sensational Peter Lorrie as Joel Cairo slinking about like a well-dressed rat with a cigarette case – intent on getting back an ancient and uber-valuable gold and jewel-encrusted falcon statue hidden inside black metal casing. All this and Elisha Carthy, Jr and Sydney Greenstreet as greedy criminals – both shining as the puppet and the puppeteer.

But the movie belongs to the everyman of cinema – Humphrey Bogart. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – watching “The Maltese Falcon” tells you why. The street punk voice, the shuffling mannerisms, the wiseass remarks (“people loose teeth talking like that”), the knowing chuckles, the cigarette permanently in hand, the crumpled suits, the private eye’s office one step away from repossession – everything about the Sam Spade character became a virtual Private Eye template for decades to come. And no matter how deep our honest gumshoe gets into the dirt – he always seems to be one foxy dame ahead of the pack.

The extras supposedly represent what cinemagoers would have seen on the night – but they’ve nothing to do with the movie and are more bizarre than they’re entertaining:

1. A Trailer to Gary Cooper’s “Sergeant York”

2. World War II Newsreel footage of Churchill and Roosevelt meeting on board a transatlantic liner

3. An early colour short of a dancing musical called “The Gay Parisian”

4. An early Bugs Bunny colour cartoon called “Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt”

5. A Looney Tunes Black And White cartoon with Porky Pig called “Meet John Doughboy”

Better than all of the odd above is the ERIC LAX feature-length Commentary -which is dry but full of details.

“The Maltese Falcon” was nominated for 3 Academy Awards – and its not surprising that the fast-talking script and tight Direction launched John Huston into the pantheon of the greats while cementing Bogey as a genuine star.  Just a few years later Humphrey would meet a 19-year old leggy starlet with a mouth and attitude to match his on-screen own (Lauren Bacall) and the rest as they say is the stuff that dreams are made of. Next time he would say “hey dreamboat” to a woman – he would mean it.

Recommended.

PS: As of March 2014 - titles in this REGION FREE UK-released Warner Brothers BLU RAY ‘Steelbook’ series so far include:

1. Ben Hur (1959)

2. Casablanca (1942)

3. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

4. Gone With The Wind (1939)

5. Grand Hotel (1932)

6. The Jazz Singer (1927)

7. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

8. North By Northwest (1959)

9. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

10. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)